Baseball results from last week have left me rather excited because my favourite baseball team, the Los Angeles Dodgers, are playing in the World Series for the first time in 29 years. The last time was in 1988 when they defeated the Oakland A’s to win it all. I would like to watch the games but because I live in Great Britain and don’t have satellite sports television, I won’t be able to. Still, I’ll follow as best I can.

The LA Dodgers

Many people in Britain don’t understand why it’s called the World Series. After all, unlike the World Cup in soccer, the rest of the world doesn’t compete in it, only teams from the US and two Canadian teams. Some British people, mainly those on the political left who hate Americans for the sake of hating Americans, cite the name as proof that Americans think they are the end all and be all. Yes, there are many Americans who think they are but that’s not the case here.

There are several myths as to how the World Series got it’s name. One of the most popular was the belief that the contest was originally sponsored by the New York World newspaper. No evidence to this fact that exists. Some others are perpetrated by naive or arrogant Americans. Two popular ones are: “There are two Canadian teams who can play” and “If the world played in it, the US teams would still win.” Maybe so, but some teams would be disadvantaged when some of their Latin American and Japanese players went back to play for their home countries.

Simply enough, the World Series name came out of history. Back in the late 1800s and earlier 1900s when the winner of the established National League would play the winner of the fledgling American Association. it was often called the World Championship Series or the Championship of the World. As time progressed, the Championship was taken out and it was shortened to the World Series. Now remember, back then, there was no internet and news from other parts of the world didn’t come onto your screen straight away. There weren’t any televisions then either so one had to rely on newspapers and by the time a news story about an event in Europe or Asia, was made news in the US and the reverse was true too, it was already old news in the country the story originated in. As far as America was concerned, no one outside of North America played baseball. Therefore, the belief that the winner of the series could rightfully be crowned ‘World Champions’ had merit at the time. That’s all it was. It had nothing to do with American arrogance or imperialism.

Why don’t they change the name to get in touch with the modern world? I, for one, wouldn’t shed a tear if the name was changed to something like the MLB Championship Series or even something twee like the ‘Super Series.’ However, I don’t believe the name will ever be changed. If anyone tried and I think there’s a few Britons who might sympathize here, many in America would start screaming “political correctness” and even state that it’s somehow ruining the national game. Poke holes in this argument all you want, but no matter, the name ‘The World Series’ isn’t ever going to change.

Shameless book plug: I do mention a fictitious World Series in “He Was Weird.” At the beginning of the story, when Mark has his first weekend in his new town, he watches the final game between the Baltimore Orioles and Arizona Diamond Backs. I am quite sure those two teams never met in any World Series. So, that’s history for you. I’m going to cheer on my Dodgers and maybe have cause to celebrate in baseball for the first time in nine years when my local team, the Philadelphia Phillies won it in 2008.

The Phillies celebrate World Series glory in 2008.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1508872466&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Anytime I learn of a bullying injustice, I always highlight it here on Peaceful Rampage and add my two pennies worth to the story. Those who have followed me for a while are probably aware of this. Well, it saddens me to say, but it has happened again. This time it happened in the world of American Football. A youth team coach got his team together and told them bullying would not be tolerated on the team. After his talk, it was pointed out to him that one of his players was still bullying. In true football fashion, the coach made the player concerned run extra laps, a common sanction in football where players are sometimes made to do extra running when they drop a pass, miss a blocking assignment or a tackle and so on. I know, I did my fair share of running when I played. After the bullying player, finished running his laps, the coach congratulated him for doing so without complaining, another coaching technique in the sport.

One would think that that would have been the end of it, right? No, the coach, who was a volunteer, was told by the team’s governing body that he was fired as coach over the incident. One member of the board asked him what qualifications he had to handle such a thing like bullying. The coach responded, “I’m a parent.” As a result, the team is now without a coach and now the coach along with several other parents, have pulled their own children off the team. For the full story, click the link below:

Is this another victory for the bullies? I would say yes and am backed up by the fact that a mother of one of the other boys pulled her son off the team, citing that the governing body is saying that bullying is okay. It also nullifies everything the coach told the team about bullying not being tolerated because now, you can and if any of the coaches step in to end it, they themselves will be dismissed.

While I don’t mention it much in “He Was Weird,” I did experience some bullying when I played football in the town where the story is based. The worse case was when two teammates ripped my personal jersey and basically got away with it because the one boy was the son of the varsity coach. However, like Mark in the story, the worst bullying came when I quit the varsity team a year later. In the eyes of many adults, I had brought it on myself because I quit the team. Really, do you think I did?

I have said from day one, that bullying is something that should never be tolerated. True, it will never be eradicated but then it never will be if those who try to take steps against bullying are the ones who are punished for it.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476096400&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

It has said that everyone has them, it’s just autistic traits aren’t as prominent in most people as they are in with who do have genuine Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Some of these abilities can be quite fascinating if the person who has them is allowed to express them in a way that benefits that person. Unfortunately, most people tend to simply branded that person annoying or at the very least, use the person with autism’s unique ability for their own amusement.

Often times, the ability would come from an interest that a person has. In many cases, the person with autism would throw themselves head first into that interest and learn everything there is to know about it. My first instance of this was when I was seven. For a limited time in 1968 and 9, you could buy little figures of all the American Presidents. Note, Nixon was president at the time but that’s just a side point. Not only did I collect all the figures, I read books about them too. So not only can I name all the presidents from Washington to Obama, I could tell you when they served, what number president they were, if they died in office and with a good deal of certainty, what political party they were a member of. My experience is typical of someone who is on the autistic spectrum.

Another ability/obsession came in my early adolescence when I was playing sports. Because American sports media seems to like to make a big deal of sports statistics, I became a big pundit on my own statistics. In gym class in junior high school, I could tell you how many pass receptions, interceptions and touchdowns I had in touch football. How many baskets and free throws I made in basketball and compute my average per game. It was even more detailed in baseball where I could not only compute my batting average, but how many singles, doubles, triples and home runs I hit. Oh, if anyone tries to joke that I know how many home runs I hit because it was none, then the joke would be inaccurate.

Book relation alert: I do give Mark a similar ability in “He Was Weird.” From when I first learned it in fifth grade, a piece of US and British history has been stuck in my mind. Note: in 1754 both countries’ history was intertwined. It was the reason why British General Braddock lost the opening battle of the French and Indian War and his life. It was because he ordered his soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder like they would have in an open field battle. I confess that I cheat a little in the story. Not long ago, I learned that the reason why generals arrayed their armies in tight formations was down to the fact that the smooth bore muskets that most soldiers used at the time were largely inaccurate. Therefore, they were all grouped together in the hopes that with all of them shooting at the same target, they might hit something. Mark points this out in his history class, unfortunately his classmates use it as an excuse to bully him and though I didn’t say it in the story, their justification would have been that Mark was showing off. Another problem that people with ASD have.

18th Century battle formation

That leads nicely to the point I am trying to make here. There are many people with autism who do have some rather special abilities but people aren’t very perceptive of it. They can work out things quickly in their head or make links that so called normal people can’t or they can astound you with their knowledge of a given subject because their fascination with that subject has led them to research it thoroughly. These people should be encouraged, not seen as annoying or irrelevant or derided for having a one track mind. They should be listened to and taken more seriously and most importantly, appreciated for who they are.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: https://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475659628&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

After last weeks post, many more examples of things I had done in my past which others consider weird but have me thinking that those persons were just being intolerant have come to mind. One of those was in sixth grade. When my work was finished, I would sometimes amuse myself by playing hockey on a piece of paper. I would draw out the layout of the ice and with a pencil, draw the movements of the puck up and down the ice. Obviously, many of my class thought this was weird and some often thought I was doing that instead of my work, not the case. Even if it was, it didn’t really bother anyone and at least I was able to amuse myself without disrupting the class. So, I don’t think anyone had a case to moan about it unless it was to tease me or use it as an excuse to bully me.

My beloved Philadelphia Flyers

A more recent example, although still twenty five years ago, was when I worked in a factory in East London. The factory made industrial fragrances and no matter how much I looked after my clothes or took showers, I would often come home smelling of my work. My solution to this was to wear my fatigues I had from the marines to and from work. When I got home, I immediately cast them into an unused closet, had a bath and got into other clothes. The cammies were only on my body an hour to an hour and a half a day in total, a half to three quarters of an hour each way. This didn’t stop some from thinking that I wore them all of the time and making comments about them smelling. Granted, they didn’t know that I changed as soon as I got home but they didn’t bother to ask either. Then again, most of those guys in question were stereotypical Essex men who are the closest thing Britain has to the American redneck. The major difference is that I don’t know of any Essex men who married their cousins. Disclaimer: Not all men from Essex fill this stereotype. However, the guys I worked with did. One of them was even suspected of being in the BNP. That is why they were intolerant of me doing something which seemed perfectly logical in my mind. I let the fatigues catch the smells of the factory so my other clothes didn’t.

I save the most obvious one for the end because in my mind, it was the worst case of me being branded weird by those who were intolerant. I mentioned this in two previous posts, “Haircut Anxieties” and “Clothing Anxieties.” When I came home from the Marine Corps in 1983, all I wanted to do after four years of living under military rule was relax. I firmly believed that after four years of wearing a crew cut and having to dress like everyone else down to the smallest details whilst in the service of my country, I earned the right to go the other way. Therefore, I didn’t cut my hair for nearly a year and a half and I often wore a set of Native American moccasin boots. Unfortunately, looking like that in 80s Reagan America, I was not only branded ‘weird’ for the way I looked, but the recipient of much scorn and intolerance. What I found particularly frustrating is that no one could be bothered to link my eccentric dress and hair style to my being in the military. No one wanted to know my side and that was what I found particularly intolerant. I didn’t want a sympathy party or anything like that but I didn’t expect to be persecuted for wearing my hair or dressing unconventionally. However, there was a happy ending. Three years after my leaving the marines, I did journey to a place where people were much more tolerant of my dress sense.

I tried to look like this when I got out

I loved these boots

There are other examples of me being perceived as weird when actually those doing the perceiving were simply showing their intolerance. I say again, nothing I ever did that was considered weird actually effected anyone and in some cases seemed logical to me. So, it’s not a case of me being weird, it’s others refusing to acknowledge anyone having their own point of view.

To buy He Was Weird, go to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1455732390&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Now that I’ve exhausted all of the eighth grade bullies in “He Was Weird,” as well as linking to my actual real life bullies, I can move on. So now we go back to non eighth grade bullies starting with Jim Friend who was in Mark’s class in that fateful year. Jim’s first major bullying appearance in the book happens while they are in sixth grade. He joins Joe Kellerman and others in repeatedly pushing Mark up against the school fence. While the others continue to do this, Jim takes to hitting Mark on the head with one of his books. Fortunately, that is the only real bullying Mark receives from him in sixth grade.

Roll on a year later. Jim comes into his own during the incident where Mark has his shorts pulled down by the substitute teacher. Like so many of the jocks who saw this teacher as some sort of hero, he is incensed that Mark had told his mother about the incident and the police being involved. Jim threatens that if Smiley gets in serious trouble, he will make Mark pay. He also informs the eighth grade jocks about Mark telling the police so they can get their own retribution. Mark tries to defuse things by telling Jim that if anything happens to him, he will get the police in on the perpetrators. This plays right into Jim’s hands. He informs Mark that his uncle if the chief of police.

There is no more physical confrontation between the two after that but Jim does use his family connections against Mark. The substitute never goes to trial for his indecent assault on Mark. When Mark’s mother and grandfather meet the DA and chief of police, they inform them that a deal has been worked out sparing the teacher from jail. One reason, explained by the police chief, is that his nephew has written a statement along with others at the school stating that Mark is a liar and a troublemaker. It is those statements that convince the prosecutor not to go to trial.

In the months after, Jim, who has always been friends with bully Mike Sigfried, actively and passively encourages his bullying of Mark. Not only that, he always seems to be there when others bully Mark as well, giving assistance with comments. That is why on the big day of Mark’s revenge, he is listed as a target and while Mark is certain that one of his bullets finds Jim, he doesn’t realise the extent of the wound it inflicts.

If you know the German word for friend, you would figure out the actual person Jim Friend is based on. Here’s where things get difficult because the indecent assault never happened to me there so that part with the police and DA never did. However, I do know that his uncle was the chief of police in the town. Another point is that while I had very little actual physical bullying sans being hit on the head with the book, he always seemed to be around when much of the bullying occurred. Furthermore, he did chime in with the odd comment that either damaged me or spurred the bullies on. Now my usual spiel about forgiveness applies here but my thoughts are that even after all these years, he would deny his part in anything. I hope this wouldn’t really be the case.

In the week or so that has past since my last post, I have been thinking more about the person who influenced my creation of the Brian Cullen character in “He Was Weird.” It may appear that the instances of bullying Mark suffers at the hands of Brian to be minimal and therefore, the bullying I suffered at the hands of the actual real life bully was too. In my last post, I only highlight two instances but let me tell you that in this particular case, quality is more than quantity.

Reflecting back when writing the book, I know that I didn’t fully demonstrate the amount of intimidation Mark was feeling from Brian. It was overshadowed by the actual physical bullying he was getting from many others. This same applies to me in my own experience. Brian Curran never punched me in the hall or body checked me into walls or anything physical like that. He just threatened to and his menacing appearance was enough to fill me with loads of anxiety. As anyone who has experienced this kind of bullying can tell you, it can be just as bad as actually being hit for the victim.

For me, it is little wonder that Mark gets his revenge on Brian Cullen on the big day. He probably feels patronised when Brian tries to claim innocence by stating he was good to Mark and the response of three bullets would be unsurprising. Thinking back, had I shot up the school, I can see the real life Brian trying to do the same thing. Would my response been the same? It would have been if my heart was filled with as much hate Mark’s was that day. Fortunately, mine isn’t filled with hate and I am still willing to forgive if the real Brian is willing to apologise.

Next post: Jim Nickerson

To buy He Was Weird, go to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1440014247&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Although Joe Kellerman was never in any of Mark’s classes in “He Was Weird,” his bullying of Mark follows along the same timeline as Mike Sigfried’s. While they are in sixth grade, Joe, like Mike, carries out low level bullying. Mostly, he is a joiner to others’ bullying but his bullying is more physical. The first instance is when Joe, along with three other boys, repeatedly push Mark up against a fence. The second instance is at the very end of sixth grade. Acting as a henchman for another boy who wants to bully Mark, he holds one of his arms so the boy can slap Mark a couple of times then gives him a kick before letting him go.

In seventh grade, things get a lot worse. It starts off when Joe learns about Mark’s fantasy of being an ice hockey player. Joe in fact plays on a local ice hockey team and is ‘offended’ that Mark claims to play as well. Whenever Joe sees Mark in the school, he gives him a hockey style body check into the wall. Then, as with all bullying, it progresses to worse things like punches. Also as is the normal case, other children egg Joe on. It gets to the point that Mark’s anxiety levels reach crisis point whenever he sees Joe around in school. Joe senses this so there are times that he doesn’t actually hit Mark but raises his hand as if he’s going to do so. That too has the desired effect.

Unlike Mike Sigfried, on the day Mark finally gets his revenge, he shoots Joe dead. There’s nothing elongated or ritualised. He simply shoots Joe with the Uzi and while Joe is lying there, Mark simply goes up to him and says, “I can’t take a check, you can’t take a bullet” before finishing him off with the pistol.

If you take the “man” off Joe’s last name, you will have the bully who inspired the character of Joe Kellerman. I can honestly say that all of the things I’ve mentioned, he did to me. He checked me into walls and even used my hockey fantasy as justification. The checks did lead to punches and intimidation. However, Joe Keller is the one person who already has my forgiveness. This is because he is unable to ask for it because in the summer between seventh and eight grades, he drowned while swimming in the ocean. While I didn’t dance in delight at the time, I didn’t exactly shed a tear either. Part of me did think, “One less person to bully me.” I just hope that wherever is soul is now, that he has repented for the sins he inflicted upon me.

Next post: Mark Wolfe

To buy He Was Weird, go to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1437684715&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

In the last post, it was established that Matt Royston was Peter Houghton’s primary bully in “Nineteen Minutes,” however, he wasn’t the only person in the story to bully Peter. There were plenty of others. Foremost of these was Matt’s hockey teammate or right hand man, Drew Girard. Drew would often join in with Matt’s bullying of Peter and sometimes even initiate it. In one instance, he played the lead role in a bullying incident when he spammed an email Peter had wrote to Matt’s girlfriend Josie proclaiming his love for her. To add further humiliation for Peter, he encouraged Matt to pull Peter’s pants down in the school cafeteria. Many readers, myself included, site this incident as being the final straw which causes Peter to snap and go on his shooting spree.

Back in the early days of Peaceful Rampage, I established the well known fact that girls are just as capable of bullying boys as boys are of bullying boys. Only the feminine bullying is more subtle and carried out differently. Enter Courtney Ignatio. She is the one who recruits Peter’s only friend at the time, Josie Cormier, to her circle of popular kids, thus taking her away from him for good. She also knows that Peter has feelings for Josie and uses this against him. She also uses this as a tool in Matt and Drew’s bullying. Courtney also initiates the events which leading up to Peter’s pantsing when she tells him that Josie secretly likes him and wants him to tell her so. Therefore, she plays a role in the final straw.

There are plenty of other bullies who make Peter’s life hell in “Nineteen Minutes” but I will only mention a couple. First, there is John Eberhard. I don’t recall him carrying out any direct bullying but he often seems to be there when Matt and Drew are bullying Peter. He certainly does nothing to stop it. Then there are the worst bullies in the story in my opinion. The unnamed boys who constantly throw Peter’s lunchbox out of the school bus window when he is in kindergarten. This happens a lot in that first year and while reading it, I hoped something would have been done about it but it never was.

Like with Matt, Peter gets his revenge on most of these bullies. Drew gets shot through the shoulder and though he survives, his ice hockey career is over. Courtney catches one square in the chest and is killed. John Eberhard gets shot in the head and suffers severe brain damage leaving him mentally handicapped. Of course, I wanted to cheer when I read that Peter got his revenge on all of the above. However, I still believe that no matter how badly he suffered, taking lives isn’t the answer. Saying that, I think it’s a damn shame that Peter never shot those boys who kept throwing his lunchbox out the window. If anyone deserved to be shot, it was them.

Next Post: Endgame

To buy He Was Weird, go to http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430161519&sr=8-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Now that I’m am back in the UK after spending two weeks in my native USA, I find myself reflecting on many of the things I got up to over there and feel a sense of accomplishment. Obviously the biggest prize was when I went to the town where I experienced so much bullying and donated copies of “He Was Weird” to the public library and the junior high school where I experienced so much hell. What struck me the most was how gracious both places were in accepting my donations. That was truly my greatest accomplishment while I was there but there were others too.

1. Getting to see family and friends: The main reason I went over to the States was to visit my mother who hasn’t been in the best of health since her accident at Christmas time. While I expected her health to have deteriorated since I last saw her eight years ago, I never realised it had gone downhill that far. Her movement is so limited now that I had to give her lots of assistance with many things. Not that I mind, in fact I worry about her more now that I’ve gone back.

I also got to hang out with my brother and sister who both took me to many of the local eating and drinking establishments around New Jersey. Let’s just say, I’m still getting all the spicy chicken wings and Yuengling beer out of my system. Of course, I also hooked up with some old friends as well. My friend Matt and I hung out quite a bit and did some cool stuff. I also got to see my friend Frank’s karaoke show at a local bar which was quite cool. I didn’t know he could sing.

2. Eating “classic” American food: Not only spicy chicken wings but also the great philly cheese steak and a huge pizza from a pizzaria run by Americans of genuine Italian descent. My sister cooked me a huge steak and when I went to the cinema, I had to have buttered popcorn and milk duds. Then there were things like Cap’n Crunch cereal, ring dings, tastykake pies and fritos.

A philly cheese steak

3. Officiating a high school football game: This was something I have wanted to do since I started officiating games in the UK eleven years ago. It was only a junior varsity game but it was still great to do.

4. Getting Christmas Shopping: I was able to get a great bulk of my Christmas shopping done while I was there. I got gifts that everyone will like. The one problem I encountered was that many stores won’t take traveller’s cheques any longer. Therefore, most of the gifts were bought at one store.

Many things were accomplished when I went to the US and the things I did’t get to do were inconsequential like drinking RC cola. I did, however, drink lots of Mountain Dew and birch beer.

While I can look back with a great sense of pride, I realise there are many things left for me to do. So, to set a reminder to myself, I will list them here.

1. Visit Jim Morrison’s Grave: I have been living in Europe for over 28 years now and I have always said I have wanted to do this. I definitely need to stop making excuses and go to Paris and see this icon’s resting place.

2. Fly to the edge of space: I have always thought it would be cool to see where the blue of Earth ends and the black of space begins. Maybe one day.

Edge of Space

There are other things I would like to see happen, two of these I have absolutely no control over and another one would be impossible after the passing of Ronnie James Dio. The other two are:

1. An Eagles- Steelers Superbowl. This has nearly happened three times.

2. Seeing the Philadelphia Flyers win a Stanley Cup. This has happened in 1974 and 75 but not since. As my sons are big Flyers fans, it would be great for them to experience the joy I had all those years ago.

I have much to be proud of, some things to be concerned about and still things I would like to do. I would like to thank all those of you who took the time to read and would like to hear things you have done and would like to do as well.

Next post: Back to the Do Teachers Encourage Bullying Theme

To buy He Was Weird, go to: http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-Weird-Michael-Lefevre/dp/1909740942/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1415794066&sr=1-1&keywords=he+was+weird

Over the past several posts, I have said a lot about stereotypes, race and related topics but for everything I have mentioned, there have been many areas I wanted to talk about but when I sat down at the computer to type my posts, they went out of my head. I think that’s one of the problems with me caused by my DAMP. I get loads of ideas, too many in fact that when it comes to putting them all together, some of them end up going south. I know I made that mistake when I wrote my first book “Rock and Roll Children.”

Let’s begin straight away and I will start with my posts about interracial bullying. Today there is a popular phrase being batted around whenever the subject of race comes up. That phrase is ‘playing the race card.’ I will be the first to admit that there are many instances where the race card is needlessly played in situations where it wasn’t warranted. It’s also true that some members of racial minorities will play it to gain and advantage. However, it is gotten to the point that whenever race comes up that many white people immediately assume that the race card is being played. My fear is that when there is a genuine case of racism, it will just be assumed that the race card is being played and any quest for justice will be ignored.

In my last post, I wrote about the racial stereotype that African Americans want to solve everything with their fists. I remembered after I made that post that the redneck who admitted he was in the Klu Klux Klan also thought he could get anything he wanted by using his fists. That proves that African Americans aren’t the only ones who think like this besides the fact there are many who do use their words.

On my post about “Race and the Numbers Game,” I left out my observations about (American) football. Many will point out there there are more African American quarterbacks and head coaches in the NFL then there were just a decade ago. I have noticed at least last season that there seems to be more caucasian wide receivers, a position pretty much monopolised by African American players, than in previous seasons. What I am saying here is that a balance is beginning to be struck here and I hope it can continue.

Another area of the numbers game I left out is interracial relationships. I think the main reason many white people at least have problems with it is because it has been mainly black men with white women. Maybe it’s me but I am seeing more and more white men with black women. Now some will point the accusing finger because they heard a black man say that if his sister or in some cases any “sister” was with a white man, they were going to kick his white a*s and I admit, I heard it said on several occasions too. However, these are still in the minority. It could have been dealt with in the UK back in the late 80s on the soap opera “East Enders” when one of the black male characters goes way off the scale because his sister brings home a white man but the BBC went chicken sh*t and didn’t do anything with it. The bottom line is that if two people like or love each other, than the colour of their skins doesn’t matter.

This flows greatly into another point I missed about British people being more tolerant than Americans. In Britain, mixed race persons are more easily accepted. Sure, Britain has it share of humanitarian fascists (people who justify right wing views on humanitarian grounds) and like America, interracial families are fertile ground for them. But in Britain, the argument that people of different races shouldn’t be together because no race will accept their children is on extremely thin ice.

Back to American football but this time from a standpoint of the UK and US. In 1991, the London Monarchs American Football time achieved world wide glory by winning the World Bowl. I thought that the people of London would celebrate the fact that a championship trophy was brought to their fair city. I was wrong. The Monarchs’ victory received very little recognition outside the American football world. There was very little said about it in the media. To most Londoners, it was simply ‘a bunch of Yanks coming over here to play their game’ which I thought rather ignorant. After all, when my beloved Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 75, it didn’t matter to me that the entire team was Canadian nor did matter to the people of Philadelphia because all that mattered was that a Philadelphia team had won a championship. I used to further add that if a kabadi team from London had won a championship, that anyone who didn’t celebrate the victory would have been branded racist but I know that they do play the game in London so that theory is wrong. My moral here is to support your city’s team no matter where the players come from.

My beloved Philadelphia Flyers

I have to admit that for a while, I had a stereotype about British people. One day when I was crossing a zebra crossing in London, a motorist who had to grudgingly stop because he was legally obligated to let me cross, flipped me the finger when I crossed. So after I got to the other side of the road, I turned and said “Same to you” when he drove past. As I was walking off, I heard screeching brakes and horns beeping. I observed that the car I had said that to had stopped on the crossing and was going to back up to come after me and would have done so if there hadn’t been a line of traffic behind him. This incident along with some others like when I worked as a market research interviewer and had people on the street say unsavoury things to me but threaten to report me when me or one of my colleagues give a sarcastic response to such comments convinced me for a time that British people loved to dish it out but couldn’t take it themselves.

I know that this isn’t really the case about British people but some individuals and misguided youths who bleat on about respect. The British are capable of taking the piss out of themselves and there are plenty of examples of films and television shows where this happens. Americans are capable of doing the same, “South Park” and “The Simpsons” are proof. However, but you still couldn’t do it about their military. To find any satire about that, you’d have to go back to the pre-Regan days with MASH and the film 1941. Americans, me included, do need to lighten up a bit more.

Finally, I can say that there is some ways to go even here in the UK. For example, I have found myself wanting to play the nationality card on the grounds that nobody is going to cry racism for a white American. However, although I can’t prove it, I do believe that there were times where I have experienced discrimination but if I say anything, I will be told that I’m just playing that card. This was reinforced by the one time I did try to make a complaint and was told that white Americans don’t come under the racial equality act. But nevertheless, I have still managed to forge a career for myself here in the UK, so it can’t have been that bad.

While I have gotten a three ton weight off my chest, I know, thanks to my Asperger’s, that these thoughts will never go away and will play havoc with me in the back of my mind. Another point I missed was the was the case of Sophie Lancaster, the goth girl who was killed in Manchester a few years back. Some Americans who like to tease and ridicule people who adapt that life style have probably said to them, “You think we’re bad, you’re lucky you’re not in England, they’ll kill you for looking like that there.” What these people forget is that most Brits saw this as an unnecessary tragedy and proves my points on tolerance. One wild speculation is that if Halloween was from any other country than the US, would calls to ban it be considered racist? I went trick or treating as a kid and it never did me any harm. Likewise with the anti American teacher who thought proms should be banned because it was an American institution. I am resolved to the fact that there will always be nit wits like this but there are even more in the US, you can’t escape them. Thanks for coming along for the ride.